Pressure painting device



Jan. 25, 1966 w. CLARK ETAL 3,231,151

PRESSURE PAINTING DEVICE Filed NOV. 12, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 25, 1966 w. R. CLARK ETAL 3,231,151

PRESSURE PAINTING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 12, 1963 INVENTOR5 Way/7M 1?. a 44! FLOYD I: H/IVKJO/V United States Patent 3,231,151 PRESSURE PAINTING DEVICE William R. Clark, 940 Tamarac Lane, Sunnyvale, Calif., and Floyd E. Hinkson, 285 N. San Pedro Road, San Rafael, Calif.

Filed Nov. 12, 1963, Ser. No. 322,675 Claims. (Cl. 222-391) This invention relates to painting devices, and more particularly to a painting device incorporating a paint roller, a paint reservoir, and pressure means for forcing the paint from the reservoir to the roller.

Paint rollers have come into extensive and popular use because of the ease with which paint may be applied to flat surfaces such as walls, ceilings, floors and the like. One of the biggest disadvantages with paint rollers, however, is the fact that they must be periodically dipped into a paint tray to replenish the roller. This is particularly disadvantageous when the painter is working on a ladder, since it is usually diflicult to maintain a paint tray safely on a ladder without spillage. As a consequence, the painter must continually dismount the ladder and take the roller to a paint tray for recharging. It has been proposed to incorporate a paint reservoir with a paint roller and to use a pressure device to force the paint from the reservoir to the roller to overcome the necessity for frequent recharging of the roller with paint, but all such attempts heretofore have been unsuccessful in gaining public acceptance because of the cumbersome and unwieldy design of such devices.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a compact pressure painting device wherein a paint reservoir is incorporated in the handle of the device and the paint therein is forced to a paint roller mounted on the end of the handle.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a pressure painting device comprising a tubular handle that may be filled with paint and in which a piston is disposed for incremental movement throughout the length of the handle to force the paint into a roller mounted on the end of the handle.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device as above described which may be easily refilled with paint and which may be easily cleaned after use.

Yet another object is to provide a paint rollerhaving a perforated core and an absorbent cover which will allow paint to flow through the perforationsin the core and be held by the absorbent cover.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the course of the following detailed description.

In the drawings forming a part of this application, and in which like parts are designated by like reference. numerals throughout the same,

FIG. 1 is a side view, partly in section, of a pressure 31,231,151 Patented Jan. 25, 1966 before the piston rod is latched to the operating handle for reciprocation thereby.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the rear part of the device seen in FIG. 4, illustrating the operating position of the parts after the piston rod is latched to the operating handle.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view, taken on line 66 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view, taken on line 7-7 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a sectional View, taken on line 8-3 of FIG. 5.

Referring now to the drawings, the reference numeral 10 indicates generally a preferred embodiment of the invention, which comprises an elongated tubular member or cylinder 11 having forward and rear ends 12 and 13. A circular head 14, held in place by screws 15 and sealed by O-ring 16, closes the forward end 12 of the cyiinder, the head being provided with an outlet bushing 17.

The rear end 13 of cylinder 11 is closed by closure member 18, secured in place by screws 19. Closure member 18 has an enlarged-diameter axial bore 21 that terminates at shoulder 22 and a reduced-diameter axial bore 23 provided with radially extending slots 24 forming a double keyhole opening through the closure memher.

A piston rod 25 extends axially through cylinder 11 and terminates short of head 14. The forward end of piston rod 25 is provided With a radially projecting roll pin 26 which serves as a stop member. The rear end of piston rod 25 extends through the bores 21 and 23 of closure member 18 and terminates at handle 27 which is secured thereto.

Fixedly secured to the rear of closure member 18 is bracket 28 having a roll pin 29 carried thereby to receive the lower slotted end 31 of lever 32. The upper end of lever 32 has secured thereto an operating handle 33 which extends forwardly along cylinder 11 at an inclination thereto. The lever 32 has an enlarged-diameter bore portion 34 thereinto terminating at shoulder 35 and a reduced-diameter bore portion 36 through which the piston rod 25 extends. The reduced-diameter bore portion 36 is provided with radially extending slots 37 to provide a double keyhole opening through the lever 32. Shoulder 35 is provided with radially extending semicircular depressions 38, shown best in FIG. 4.

The lever 32 is also provided 'with a stepped bore 39 therethrough to accommodate screw41 which is threaded into the closure member 18. As may be seen, the head of screw 41 limits the counterclockwise rotation of lever 32 about roll pin 29. This limit can be adjusted by threading screw 41 into or out of the closure member 18.

The lever 32 is biased in a counterclockwise direction by compression spring 43 which fits into the enlarged diameter bores 21 and 34 of the closure member 18 and lever 32. This spring seats at one end against the closure member shoulder 22. The other end of the spring carries a spring retainer ring 44 which either engages the lever shoulder 35 or the radially extending roll pin 45 on piston rod 25. Roll pin 45 extends outwardly from the piston rod a distance greater than the inner diameter of the spring 43 and spring retainer ring 44.

The piston rod 25 also carries thereon a radially extending roll pin 46, The roll pin 46 extends outwardly from the piston rod 25 a lesser distance than the inner radius of spring 43 and spring retainer ring 44 so that the pin 46 can be moved through the spring and spring retainer ring upon axial movement of the piston rod 25 3 relative thereto, for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

Closure member 18 has secured thereto longitudinally extending supports 47 which hold an annularly extending ring member 43 against the inner surface of cylinder 11 at a spaced distance from the closure member. The ring 48 has an inner diameter edge 49.

With the mechanism thus far described, the piston rod 25 may be reciproeated through a relatively short distance with cylinder 11 by squeezing handle 33 towards cylinder 11 and then releasing the handle. That is, when the roll pin '45 is seated in the lever grooves 38, the squeezing of handle 33 will cause the lever 32 to rotate in a clockwise direction about roll pin 29, forcing the piston rod forwardly to the right (as seen in FIG. When handle 33 is released, spring 43 will act on the piston rod roll pin 45 to force the piston rod and lever 32 back to its original position. The amount of reciprocal movement of the piston rod can be adjusted by screw 41.

Piston 54) is mounted on piston rod 25 within cylinder 11, and is sealed to the piston rod and cylinder by 0- rings 51 and 52. The piston 59 is connected to the piston rod 25, for one-way movement thereby, by a oneway clutch mechanism to be now described.

A cage 55, having an end wall 56, a circular wall 57 and an open radial window 58, is secured to the rear of piston 50. An elongated metal clutch member 69, having a hole .61 therethrough of slightly greater diameter than the diameter of the piston rod 25, is disposed in the cage 55 with the piston rod extending through the clutch member hole. A tongue 62 on the clutch member extends into an opening in the bottom of the cage. The clutch member hole 61 has sharp edges so that the clutch member will grippingly engage the piston rod when the clutch member is angularly forced against the piston rod as shown in FIG. 6, wherein the clutch member engages the piston rod at a point longitudinally between the tongue 62 and the piston 55'). The clutch member 64) is preferably made of softer material than the piston rod so that wear will occur on the clutch member rather than on the piston rod,

A resilient U-shaped leaf spring 65 is secured to the end wall 56 of the cage by screw 66 and to the clutch member 60 by rivets 67 to normally bias the clutch member into gripping engagement with the piston rod,.as shown in FIG. 6. The leaf spring 65 has an upwardly extending resilient tip 63 which projects through the cage window 58 and extends upwardly into close adjacency with the inner surface of cylinder 11, just slightly past the inner surface 49 of ring 48.

The one-way clutch mechanism just described operates as follows: The leaf spring 65 normally biases clutch member 66 into gripping engagement with the piston rod 25 so that forward movement to the right of the piston rod (by handle 33) will force the piston 50 therewith to the right. The more the resistance of the piston 50 to forward movement, as by the frictional drag of O-ring 52, the greater will be the gripping force, since forward movement of the piston rod will cause the clutch member to tend to rotate in a clockwise direction about its tongue 62, thereby increasing the gripping engagement between the sharpened edges of clutch member hole 61 and the piston rod. On rearward movement of the piston rod 25 to the left, the friction of O-ring 52 will tend to resist rearward movement of the piston 50 and the movement of piston rod 25 will cause the clutch member 60 to rotate in a counterclockwise direction about its tongue 62 so that the gripping edges of clutch hole 61 do not grip the piston rod, allowing the rod to slide freely therethrough. Thus, whenever the piston rod moves forwardly to the right, the piston will be positively moved thereby, but when the piston rod moves rearwardly to the left, the piston will not move therewith. Accordingly, continued reciprocations of the piston rod by handle 33 will cause the piston to progress forwardly by increments through the length of the cylinder towards the outlet end 12 thereof.

The paint roller unit 70, illustrated in FIG. 3, comprises a rigid conduit 71 having a straight portion 72 plugged at one end at 73. A non-absorbent sleeve 74, of plastic foam or the like, is fixed to and about the conduit portion 72, and a stop ring 75 is fixed to the conduit portion 72. A plastic closure member 75 is mounted on conduit portion 72 between sleeve 74 and stop ring 75 for rotation on the conduit, the closure member 76 having a thin annular lip 77 extending axially therefrom in engagement with the conduit to prevent leakage therepast.

An elongated roller 78 is mounted on the closure member 76 for rotation therewith, the roller 78 comprising a tubular core 79 having an absorbent covering 80, such as lambs wool, secured therearound in a conventional manner. The .core 79 has a friction fit with the ou-ter circumference 81 of closure member 76. A closure member 32 fits frictionally in the other end of the roller core 79 and has an axial hub 83 fitting loosely into the end of conduit portion 72 to center the roller on the conduit portion 72.

The sleeve 74 and conduit portion 72 are drilled radially as at '85 to provide fluid communication from the conduit 71 to the annular space 86 between the sleeve 74 and the roller core 79. The roller core 79 is provided with a plurality of longitudinal rows of spaced radial apertures 87 to allow paint to pass from the annular space 556 through the apertures and be absorbed by cover 89. Preferably, the core apertures 87 are sizedin accordance with the viscosity of the paint to be used, so that paint flow through the apertures can be somewhat regulated thereby. That is, if a relatively viscous paint is to be used, a roller 78 having a core provided with relatively large-diameter apertures .87 should be used, whereas if the paint is thinner, then a core having smallerdiameter apertures 87 should be used.

The function of the annular space 86 between sleeve 74 and the roller core 79 is to limit the amount of paint inside the roller core. If too much paint were inside the roller core and the roller core were not rotating, as it does in a painting stroke, the paint would flow through the lowermost core perforations, saturate the lower surface of the roller and create drippage problems.

The other end 91 of conduit 71 is adapted to fit within the end of bushing 17, with insertion being limited by stop ring 92 on the conduit. O-ring 93 seals the conduit end 91 to bushing 17 to prevent 'leakage'of paint from the end of cylinder 11, and also serves to frictionally grip the conduit end 91 to prevent accidental dislodgment of the paint roller unit 7 0 from the cylinder 11.

In the operation of the device 10, assume that the piston 50 will have been moved all the way forwardly in the cylinder '11 until the piston engages the stop pin 26 on the forward end of the piston rod 25 (FIG. 1). The paint roller unit 70 is removed, and the outlet bushing 17 is put into a can of paint. The piston rod handle 27 is rotated to align the roll pins '45 and 46 on the piston rod with the double keyhole openings in lever 32 and closure member 18. The roll pin 45 is now free to move through the double keyhole opening in lever 32 and the roll pin is free to move through the double keyhole opening in closure member 18, spring 43, spring retainer ring 44 and the double keyhole opening in lever 32.

The piston rod 25 is then pulled rearwardlyfrom the cylinder 11, and the piston rod stop pin 26 forces the piston 50 rearwardly. The resulting suction sucks paint through the outlet bushing 17 into the cylinder. As the piston 50 moves near the rear end of the cylinder, the tip 68 of the U-shaped spring 65 engages the ring 48 but bends thereunder and snaps therepast to the position shown in FIG. 2. The cylinder is now fully charged with paint, and is removed from the can of paint.

The piston rod is now pushed all the way back into the cylinder. At first, the piston moves therewith, since the clutch member 60 grippingly engages the piston rod on forward movement of the piston rod, due to the biasing action of the U-shaped spring 65. However, as soon as the tip 68 of the U-shaped spring engages ring 48, the tip 63 will flex to the left to disengage the clutch member 60 from the piston rod 25 to allow the rod to be moved forwardly without carrying the piston therewith.

Continued forward movement of piston rod 25 eventually causes the roll pin 46 to move back through the double keyhole opening in lever 32, spring 43 and the double keyhole opening in closure member 18 and into engagement with the end wall 56 of cage 55. Forward movement of the piston rod then causes the roll pin 46 to force cage forwardly so that the tip 68 of the U- shaped spring will flex to the left and then spring to the right under ring 49 so that the clutch member will again grippingly engage the piston rod, as shown in FIG. 5. Counter-clockwise rotation of the clutch member 60 about its tongue 62 is limited by the engagement of spring 65 with the tip 69 of screw 66.

During this last operation, the roll pin 45 will have moved through the double keyhole opening in lever 32. The handle 27 is then rotated 90 so that the roll pin 45 is received in depressions 38 in lever 32. The cylinder 11 is now filled with paint, and the piston is in the position shown in FIG. 5. The piston rod is fully inserted in cylinder 11 and is locked to lever 32 for reciprocating movement by operating handle 33. p

The roller unit 70 is then attached to the device by inserting the conduit portion 91 into the outlet bushing 17. A few pumps on handle 33 will then force the piston 50 forwardly to force paint through conduit 71 into the interior of roller 78 and out through the perforations 87 in the roller core where it is absorbed by the absorbent cover.

The device is now ready for use, and painting is accomplished by conventional rolling operations. As paint is applied to the surface being painted from the roller, the handle 33 is intermittently operated to force more paint to the roller. Eventually the piston 50 will be moved all the way forwardly through cylinder 11 until it is stopped by stop pin 26. The roller unit 70 is then removed and the cylinder is recharged with paint as above described so that painting may be resumed.

After painting is complete, the roller is removed from the conduit portion 72 so that it may be cleaned in a conventional manner. The conduit 71 is removed from outlet bushing 17 and any excess paint in cylinder 11 and conduit 71 is poured back into the paint can. The outlet bushing 17 is then inserted into a can of paint thinner and the piston rod 25 is withdraw as in a filling operation to suck the paint thinner into the cylinder to clean the cylinder. The paint thinner may also be forced from cylinder 11 through conduit 76 to clean the latter. Cleaning operations are continued until the cylinder 11 is clean, at which time it may be stored or used for a different color paint, as desired.

As seen from the foregoing, the present invention provides a painting device that is convenient to use and simple in operation. In order to fill the device with paint, the handle 27 is rotated 90 and the piston rod is pulled rearwardly from the cylinder. The piston rod is then pushed all the way back into the cylinder and is locked by again rotating the handle 99 to ready the device for use. When in use, the piston rod is fully inserted in the cylinder and thus does not get in the way when painting.

The cylinder 11 is used as a handle for the paint roller unit 70 and enables the user to paint an average-height ceiling Without the use of ladders, scaffolds or the like.

The cylinder 11 is preferably for-med from a lightweight metal such as aluminum, and is preferably made of a length and diameter to hold the maximum amount of paint without being unduly heavy for use. It has been found that a two-quart capacity in the cylinder is the most practical for general work. The cylinder can be made, if desired, of a clear or translucent plastic, which has the advantage that the quantity of paint remaining in the cylinder can be easily seen.

The ring 48, under which the U-shaped spring tip 68 snaps, preferably extends, as shown, completely around the cylinder 11 so that the piston 50 can be in any rotated position on piston rod 25 and still have the spring tip 68 engage the ring 48.

In order that the piston 50 may slide freely in cylinder 11 without any leakage of paint thereby, the rubber O-ring 52 preferably has a Teflon coating thereon. This is done by applying a liquid coating of Teflon to the O-ring and elevating the temperature to fuse or sinter the Teflon and bond it to the O-ring, the process being carried out rapidly enough not to degrade the O-ring.

It is further to be realized that the particular form of the invention herein shown and described is to be taken as a preferred embodiment of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is:

1. A pressure painting device comprising:

an elongated tubular member having an outlet at one end thereof;

a piston rod disposed in said tubular member;

manually operable means engageable with said piston rod for reciprocating said piston rod through a limited distance within said tubular member;

a piston slidably mounted on said piston rod and in sliding and sealed engagement with said tubular member;

one-way clutch means mounted on said piston to clutch said piston to said piston rod for unitary movement therewith when said piston rod moves in a direction towards said outlet and to unclutch said piston from said piston rod when said piston rod moves in the opposite direction;

means for disengaging said piston rod from said manually operable means to permit extended movement of said piston rod in either direction in said tubular member; I

means on said piston rod for engagement with said piston upon extended movement of said piston rod in said opposite direction to move said piston with said piston rod in said opposite direction;

means in said tubular member at the end opposite said outlet to declutch said piston from said piston rod upon movement of said piston to said opposite end of said tubular member to permit substantial extended movement of said piston rod in the direction towards said outlet without, movement of said piston therewith;

means operable in response to full extended movement of said piston in the direction towards said outlet to reclutch said piston to said'piston rod for unitary movement thereof in the direction towards said out let.

' 2. A pressure painting device comprising:

an elongated tubular member having an outlet at one end thereof;

a piston rod disposed axially in said tubular member;

manually operable means engageable with said piston rod for reciprocating said piston rod through a limited distance within said tubular member;

a piston slidably mounted on said piston rod and in sliding and sealing relationship with said tubular member;

an elongated clutch member disposed in said cage having a hole therethrough of a diameter slightly larger than the diameterof said piston rod, said holehaving sharpened .edges and said piston rod extending through said hole;

means mounted on said piston for holding one end of said clutch member at a spaced distance from said piston;

spring means biasing said sharpened edges of said clutch member hole into engagement with said piston rod at a point longitudinally between said one clutch member end and said piston;

.a resilient leaf secured to and extending radially outwardly from the other end of said clutch member and having a tip in close adjacency with the inner surface of said tubular member;

.a ring formed on the inner surface of said tubular member adjacent the end opposite from said one end thereof and extending radially inwardly for engagement with said tip of said resilient leaf on the clutch member;

means for disengaging said piston rod from said manually operable means to permit extended movement of said piston rod in either direction in said tubular member;

means on said piston rod for engaging said piston upon extended movement of said piston rod towards said opposite end of said tubular member to move said piston with said piston rod to said opposite end with said resilient leaf tip bending under and past said ring;

said ring and resilient leaf tip being so correlated that movement of said piston rod back towards said one end of said tubular housing will engage said ring and leaf tip and move saidclutch member against the bias of said spring member and out of gripped engagement with said piston rod;

means on said piston rod for positive engagement with said piston upon extended movement of said piston rod towards said one end of said tubular member to force said piston towards said one end of said tubular member and to force said leaf tip to bend under and past said ring.

3. In a pressure painting device:

an elongated tubular member having an outlet at one end thereof;

a piston rod disposedin said tubular member;

motion-restricting means engageable with said piston rod for limiting said piston rod to a reciprocal movement through a limited distance within said tubular member;

a piston slidably mounted on said piston rod and in sliding and sealed engagement with said tubular member;

one-Way clutch means mounted on said piston to clutch said piston to said piston rod for unitary movement therewith when said piston rod moves in a direction towards said outlet and to unclutchsaid piston from said piston rod when said piston rod moves in the opposite direction;

means for disengaging said piston rod from said motionrestricting means to permit extended movement of said piston rod in either direction in said tubular member;

means on said piston rod for engagement with said piston upon extended movement of said piston rod in said opposite direction :to move said piston with said piston rod in said opposite direction;

means insaidtubularmember at the end opposite said outlet to decl'utch said piston from said piston rod upon movementof said piston to said opposite end of said tubular member to permit substantial extended movement of said piston rodin the direction towards said outlet without movement of said piston there with;

means operable in response to full extended movement of said piston in the direction towards said outlet to reclutch said piston ,to said piston rod for unitary 8 movement therewith in the direction towards said outlet.

4. In a pressure painting device:

an elongated tubular member having an outlet at one end thereof;

a piston rod disposed axially in said tubular member;

motion-restricting means engageable with said piston rod for limiting said piston rod to a limited distance reciprocal movement within said tubular member;

a piston slidably mounted on said piston rod and in sliding and sealing relationship with said tubular member;

an elongated clutch member disposed in said cage having a hole therethrough of a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of said piston rod, said hole having sharpened edges and said piston rod extending through said hole;

means mounted on said piston for holding one end of said clutch member at a spaced distance from said piston;

spring means biasing said sharpened edges of said clutch member hole into engagement with said piston rod at a point longitudinally between said one clutch member end and said piston;

means for disengaging said piston rod from said motion-restricting means to permit extended movement of piston rod in either direction in said tubular member;

means on said piston rod for engaging said piston upon extended movement of said piston rod towards said opposite end of said tubular member to move said piston with said piston rod to said opposite end;

means adjacent said opposite end of said tubular .mem-

ber for unclntching said clutch member from said piston rod upon movement of said piston to said other end of said tubular member to allow said piston rod to be moved back toward said one end of said tubular member without movement of said piston therewith;

means responsive to extended movement of said piston rod towards said one end of said tubular member to reclutch said clutch member to said piston rod for unitary movement therewith in the direction towards said outiet.

5. In .a pressure painting device:

an elongated tubular member having an outlet at one end thereof;

a piston rod disposed axially in said tubular member;

motion-restricting means engageable with said piston rod for limiting said piston rod to a limited distance reciprocal movement within said tubular member;

a piston slidably mounted on said piston rod and in sliding and sealing relationship with said tubular member;

an elongated clutch member disposed in said cage having a hole therethrough of a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of said piston rod, said hole having sharpened edges and said piston rod extending through said hole;

means mounted on said piston for holding one end of said clutch member at a spaced distance from said piston; I

spring means biasing said sharpened edges of said clutch member hole into engagement with said piston rod at a point longitudinally between said one clutch member end and said piston;

a resilient leaf secured to and extending radially outwardly from the other end of said clutchmember and having a tip in .close adjacency with the inner surface of said tubular member;

a projection formed on the inner surface of said tubular member adjacent the end opposite from said one end thereof and extending radially inwardly for engagement with said tip of said resilient leaf on the clutch member;

means for disengaging said piston rod from said motion-restricting means to permit extended movement of said piston rod in either direction in said tubular member;

means on said piston rod for engaging said piston upon extended movement of said piston rod towards said opposite end of said tubular member to move said piston with said piston rod to said opposite end with said resilient leaf tip bending under and past said ring;

said ring and resilient leaf tip being so correlated that movement of said piston rod back towards said one end of said tubular housing will engage said ring and leaf tip and move said clutch member against the bias of said spring member and out of gripped engagement with said piston rod;

means on said piston rod engageable with said piston 10 upon extended movement of said piston rod towards said one end of said tubular member to force said piston towards said one end of said tubular member and to force said resilient leaf tip to bend under and past said ring.

References (Iited by the Examiner LOUIS J. DEMBO, Primary Examiner.

WALTER A. SCHEEL, EVERETT W. KIRBY,

' Examiners. 

1. A PRESSURE PAINTING DEVICE COMPRISING: AN ELONGATED TUBULAR MEMBER HAVING AN OUTLET AT ONE END THEREOF; A PISTON ROD DISPOSED IN SAID TUBULAR MEMBER; MANUALLY OPERABLE MEANS ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID PISTON ROD FOR RECIPROCATING SAID PISTON ROD THROUGH A LIMITED DISTANCE WITHIN SAID TUBULAR MEMBER; A PISTON SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON SAID PISTON ROD AND IN SLIDING AND SEALED ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID TUBULAR MEMBER; ONE-WAY CLUTCH MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID PISTON TO CLUTCH SAID PISTON TO SAID PISTON ROD FOR UNITARY MOVEMENT THEREWITH WHEN SAID PISTON ROD MOVES IN A DIRECTION TOWARDS SAID OUTLET AND TO UNCLUTCH SAID PISTON FROM SAID PISTON ROD WHEN SAID PISTON ROD MOVES IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION; MEANS FOR DISENGAGING SAID PISTON ROD FROM SAID MANUALLY OPERABLE MEANS TO PERMIT EXTENDED MOVEMENT OF SAID PISTON ROD IN EITHER DIRECTION IN SAID TUBULAR MEMBER; 